The reasons why it is good to have friends like Paul and Liz are almost too numerous to count. (A place near the top of that list, however, must under any circumstances be reserved for Paul’s pulled pork.)

However, the reason for today — yesterday, really, but I’m slow — is that they know about, and actually attend, cool stuff that’s happening locally. Case in point: Cinema San Pedro. They’ve been talking about it since at least last year, but last night was the first time I mustered the energy to go. As with so many things, I found myself wishing that I’d done it sooner.

The venue is a hoot, for starters. With the consent of the restaurants fronting it, the good folk of the Camera Cinemas block off a section of San Pedro Street, parking a truck with a projection screen on one end, and turning the rest into open-air seating. Plastic garden chairs are made available to all, although one can opt to bring one’s own blanket and forego the chairs entirely.

The feature was 1950’s All About Eve. There are movies that age gracelessly, proving themselves too tighly tied to the time of their production. Others, like Casablanca, are timeless — the ones you hear about for years before you finally watch them, have realization dawn upon you, and say, “Oh. So that’s what all the fuss was about.”

All About Eve is one of the latter. It’s catty, crackling, melodramatic fun. There isn’t a bad performance in the lot, but George Sanders deserves special mention as the recipient of the Coiled Spring Award for Best Delayed Payoff.

Notes to self:

• I should probably watch Gone With The Wind at some point, which is probably the most important on the gradually-dwindling list of absolute classics that I’ve yet to see.
• I should more frequently follow Paul and Liz’s excellent judgement when it comes to local recreation, and visit the San Jose Farmer’s Market with them the next time they go.
• I should also go to Cinema San Pedro again. Perhaps I’ll go earlier, show my appreciation to the San Pedro Restaurants by grabbing a meal there beforehand, and get even better seats. I should also bring pillows, or possibly even a beanbag. Mmmmm… beanbag.